


say hey (i love you)

by Jenny_Jensen



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: AU, F/F, F/M, Mothers and Daughters, Southside Serpent Betty Peabody, Southside Serpent Jughead Jones
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-02
Updated: 2020-05-28
Packaged: 2021-03-01 04:55:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 17,207
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23449636
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jenny_Jensen/pseuds/Jenny_Jensen
Summary: An AU of Butterflies, where Betty was rescued from Hal before he could take her to New York and turn her into Elizabeth Cooper.Elizabeth Regan Peabody, daughter of the Snake Charmer herself, Penny Peabody, future girlfriend of the Serpent Prince.How much trouble could she possibly get into?
Relationships: Archie Andrews/Veronica Lodge, Betty Cooper/Jughead Jones, Cheryl Blossom/Toni Topaz, Past FP Jones and Gladys Jones, Past Hal Cooper/Penny Peabody
Comments: 48
Kudos: 145





	1. This Angel

**Author's Note:**

> It's here!!!
> 
> Thank you so much for reading! :)

* * *

She’s alone the day she gives birth.

Her mother’s gone, her surrogate mother is gone and the father of her unborn child is simply an asshole, probably getting drunk with his friends or hooking up with the next foolish girl to rush and be by her side for the birth of that child that he clearly doesn’t want.

It doesn’t matter, she decides, the two of them will be _way_ better off without him.

* * *

Her feet are in stirrups, there’s a somewhat unpleasant breeze from where her ugly hospital gown has fallen open in the back and she’s in the middle of another contraction when the doctor suddenly announces that it’s time to start pushing.

* * *

January 23rd, 2001 is the day Penny Peabody becomes a mother.

There’s a moment of doubt, as a nurse announces that she’s given birth to a beautiful little girl, and a high pitched wail pierces the air. _How can she possibly do this?_

She’s nineteen, barely out of high school, working nights at the bar to try and cover the mortgage her mother left her with.

_She’s not ready to be a mother._

But then the screaming little bundle is being placed in her arms by a nurse, who, in the same breath, asks her what her daughter’s name is going to be.

She’s careful to cradle her little head, and though she’s never held a baby before _in her life_ , she’s hopped up on enough pain medication to vainly think that she’d doing a pretty damn good job.

Her daughter has blue eyes, just like hers, small whips of golden hair curling around her forehead.

She’s the most beautiful thing Penny has ever seen.

She never knew it was possible to love someone so much.

“Do we have a name yet?”

“Elizabeth,” Penny answers, without skipping a beat. “Elizabeth Regan Peabody.”

* * *

The name _Betty_ slips out the first time her daughter is trying to nurse, and it just seems to _fit_ her. Elizabeth is a fine name, honoring the grandmother she’ll never get to know, and while her middle name is a little more complicated, a story she’ll dread having to tell, it’s still in honor of the woman that saved her, the woman she loves and misses, but her full name is a mouthful that she can’t imagine ever having to yell at the top of her lungs because Betty, eyes fluttering as she prepares to fall asleep, is clearly an angel.

_Her_ angel.

Her entire fucking world.

* * *

FP scolds her for not calling.

She points out that he has enough on his plate, with his young son Forsyth the third, and Gladys five months pregnant with their second child, but a single look from the Serpent King has her trailing off, beaming at a babbling Forsyth before asking FP is he wants to hold her own pride and joy.

* * *

“She’s beautiful Pen,” FP tells her, with a smile that reaches his eyes, and Penny only sees him him look that way when he’s looking at his own son. “Do you wanna see the baby, kiddo?”

Forsyth, perched on the bed beside her, stares back at Betty.

And then he’s leaning _over_ the bed to press a somewhat slobbery kiss to her daughter’s head.

Penny begins to laugh.

She’s no psychic, but the future is pretty fucking clear.

So she tells FP that they’ll split the costs of the wedding, snorts as he pretends to scowl at her, smiles as he holds onto Betty a little tighter.

She’ll always be safe with the Serpents.

* * *

Penny can’t bring herself to sleep, or put baby Elizabeth down into the bassinet that’s been wheeled over to sit beside her hospital bed.

Her arms are going numb, but she can’t let her go.

“I have no idea how we’re gonna do this, kid,” she confesses, kissing the top of her head. “but we’ll manage, won’t we, baby?”

She starts to hum, and Betty, sound asleep, coos happily in response.

“Oh Betty,” Penny smiles. “I love you so much, my sweet girl.”

It’s day one of the rest of their lives, and she’s right, she has no idea how to make it work, but she has Betty, and Betty has her, and maybe that’s all they’ll ever need. Each other.


	2. Be Okay

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's really fun thinking about what our favorite Riverdale characters were like when they were little! :)
> 
> This is how I imagine them :)
> 
> Thank you so much for reading!

* * *

Gladys is moodier than ever when he asks if she wants to go visit Penny and the new baby.

Flat out, she tells him _no._

She doesn’t even say goodbye to their son.

Her detachment from Forsyth is alarming, but he tries to attribute it to postpartum depression, because he knows _just_ how real that is. He can only hope, pray even that in four months when their second child arrives, things will get better.

FP buckles Forsyth into his car seat, ruffles his growing midnight hair, smiles through his repetitive utterances of the word _jug_ from whatever book they read the night before at bedtime. It’s all he’s been saying for the last twenty-four hours, and while part of him misses when the only word he would say was _daddy_ , he’s glad his son’s vocabulary is expanding.

* * *

Betty really is an angel.

She might not sleep at night, her face turns bright red when she cries, and _oh can she cry_ , but despite the lack of sleep, showers, smelly diapers and constant stains from being spit up on, Penny has never been happier.

Because that blue eyed, blonde haired child currently nestled in her arms is _hers_ and hers alone.

Yeah she has a father, a deadbeat one that has only visited her _once_ in the two weeks since she was born.

She also has another last name, one Penny never _wanted_ her to have, but it’s there after a verbal threat for custody, and her daughter’s name is officially Elizabeth Peabody Blossom.

A second last name doesn’t matter, she’ll always be a Peabody through and through. While she hates having to give in to her asshole of an ex, she’ll never risk losing her baby girl for anything.

Betty is hers, and she’s the best damn thing that has ever happened to her.

* * *

FP coos over that beautiful baby girl.

It’s hard not to. She’s so fucking _perfect._

It’s the way he feels about Forsyth, and his soon to be born baby, which, after holding Betty, watching her beam back at him, he secretly hopes will be a girl, because he’d love to have a daughter.

* * *

“Hal shown up at all?”

She wants to smack him.

FP is her friend, has been since she started dating the bastard he used to hang around with, only because of Fred Andrews and Tom Keller, she reminds herself, but sometimes, he can be so _fucking_ annoying.

“What do _you_ think?”

Betty is still cradled somewhat awkwardly in his arms, but she looks so at peace, Penny doesn’t try and take her, no matter how badly she wants to.

He might not know it, but he’s a huge help.

“He’s an ass.”

She can’t help it. She starts laughing.

“Mhhm,”

“You’re too good for him Pen,” FP tells her seriously. “You always were.”

Sometimes she wonders if FP knows just how good of a man _he is_. Even with everything life’s ever thrown at him, acholic, abusive father, a partner that only seems to care about herself. They’re cut from the same cloth, maybe even more than they’ll ever truly realize.

But they are not their parents. They are not their partners.

They can break the cycle.

They can protect their kids.

Penny finds herself smiling, and it’s another thing she can’t help.

“Don’t get so sappy,” she tells him, unable to hide the grin spreading across her face.

Betty gets fussy, and he’s quick to hand her over. She brushes her knuckles against her daughter’s round, beautiful cheek, and the room is silent once again.

“We don’t need him,” Penny says. “do we, baby?”

Betty squeaks in response, but to Penny’s ears, it’s a sound of agreement.

* * *

Penny’s doing great, and he tells her so.

She rolls her eyes at him, but can’t stop the smile spreading across her face.

Though she might not know it, she’s going to be great at this whole parenting thing.

Betty is lucky to have her.

* * *

“You can’t call him _Forsyth_ forever,”

FP scowls at her, glances at his son on the floor, playing with some of the toys Betty’s too young to enjoy. His favorite seems to be a teddy bear that sings _You Are My Sunshine_ any time Forsyth pushes the red button on its hand.

“I know, I know,” he grumbles. “but he won’t acknowledge me when I try to call him _Sy..._ damn it, I hope the batteries run out of that fucking thing soon enough. _My head.”_

“Language,” Penny barks.

FP snorts. “Relax Pen, he’s not even two yet. He knows three words, daddy, hi and for whatever reason, the word _jug._ I read him the dumbest fucking book last night and now it’s all he’ll say-”

“Damn,” Forsyth says happily, beaming at his father like FP should be proud. “’uck!”

Penny shoots him a pointed look, her favorite way of saying _I told you so._ His face turns bright red.

“Forsyth... boy, you can’t repeat-”

_“Jug!”_ His son cries, elated. He points to his raven curls. _“Head!”_

FP isn’t flustered anymore, he’s fucking proud.

“That’s right!” He grabs the boy, throwing him up into the air. “That’s your head, you brilliant boy!”

Penny is smiling too. Standing up, she touches Forsyth’s cheek, tells him how smart her _future son-in-law_ is.

FP merely rolls his eyes, not bothering to argue, because he sees it too, the way Forsyth stares at baby Elizabeth in wonderment.

“Jug!” Forsyth repeats. “Head!”

“Uh...”

_“Jug... Head!”_

“Forsyth-”

_“Jug-Head!”_ He claps his hands together. _“Jughead, Jughead, Jughead!”_

Dear god, _please no._

But he keeps on saying it, and it’s becoming clearer and clearer.

Penny’s laughing, gently rocking Betty in her arms.

“You know,” she says, after a moment. “it’s kind of catchy... and no one else in the world would have a name like that.”

* * *

And that is how his son Forsyth ends up going by the name _Jughead._

* * *

“Where’s Fo... _Jughead?”_ FP demands, coming back from the bathroom.

Penny’s eyes widen in alarm.

“He was here a minute ago,” she promises.

Frantically, they begin to search the house, but they don’t have to look very far.

Penny touches his arm, gestures to the open door of her bedroom.

Jughead is sitting on the floor by Betty’s bassinet, watching her sleep.

“Boy...” He drawls out.

And then he swings his son up into the air, holds him close, kisses the top of his head.

“Daddy,” Jughead’s pointing frantically.

“What buddy?”

_“Baby,”_ Jughead says, turning to stare at Betty again.

“Yes Jughead, _baby._ That’s Betty, remember?”

_“Baby,”_ he repeats, and he’s smiling gummily. “Baby _pretty.”_


	3. A Moment Like This

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing about baby Betty, Jughead, Toni and Jellybean is SO much fun!
> 
> Thank you for reading! :)

* * *

FP laughs when he sees the first picture, tells her he always knew she had a _secret soft side_ , and she can only roll her eyes in response, because he’s absolutely fucking right.

Betty has done something to her, changed her in some way that’s obviously for the better.

She’ll still kill anyone that ever tries to harm her daughter.

* * *

There’s a new picture every month, for every milestone.

She wanted to kill FP for spending so much on a fucking camera as a present for her baby shower, but now she’s grateful.

_Click._

The first time she holds her head up by herself.

_Click._

The first time they do _tummy time_ and Betty’s face is bright red from screaming, because she just hates being on her stomach.

_Click._

The first time she rolls over. She catches it on video, prints out stills, hangs it on the wall in a three picture frame.

She captures it all, happy faces, sad faces, mad faces, even pictures in the bathtub that she knows will embarrass her baby girl later in her teenage years, but she doesn’t care.

Betty deserves to know just how much she’s loved.

* * *

Hal misses most of it. It’s not that shocking.

* * *

Money’s tight, and she has to start working again if she’s going to give Betty the future she never got to have.

She calls, pleads with Hal to help her out, and he reluctantly agrees.

“I’m so sorry it’s such a chore for you to spend time _with your daughter,”_ Penny says, slamming the phone back down into the cradle.

Glancing down at Betty, lying on her back, playing with some toys, she smiles.

“Sorry your daddy is such a deadbeat, baby,” she sighs. “but you’ve got me, you know that? You’ve always got me honey.”

* * *

FP is happy to let her bartend.

He’s a good friend. She can’t tell him that, because it’s too mushy for their friendship, but he’s a good friend to her, and sometime she doesn’t know if she’d be able to survive any of this without him or her daughter.

* * *

He’s late.

She’s not surprised. During the roller coaster that was their relationship, there was never a day that she didn’t have to wait on him, whether it was for just a ride home or a date.

FP doesn’t call. She can’t thank him enough for understanding.

* * *

Hal shows up, doesn’t speak to her, greets Betty in a way that’s _almost_ fatherly.

Then he glances at her, mumbles something about the skin she’s showing, and she wants nothing more than to smack him straight across his stupid face.

But she’s not a violent person, not unless she’s been provoked. She won’t hurt her daughter’s father. Especially not in front of her. Betty will not grow up in a house full of domestic violence. She’s going to have a better childhood than Penny ever did.

Hal picks up the baby, cradles her awkwardly. The second he touches her, Betty starts wailing.

“What the fuck did I do?” He demands.

Penny forces her arms to stay down at her side. _Betty deserves to know her father_ , she reminds herself. It’s only right.

“She’s not comfortable with you,” she says.

“What,” he sneers. “you saying I don’t spend enough time with _my_ daughter, Penny?”

_Yes._

“No,” Penny’s lying through her teeth. “I’m saying that she’s just not comfortable with you yet-”

He backhands her.

She presses a trembling hand to her split lip.

“Don’t talk back to me,” Hal warns. He glares down at their still crying baby girl. “For fuck’s sake, _shut up_ Lizzie.”

 _Lizzie._ He always calls her Lizzie. He hates the name Betty.

“Don’t talk to my daughter like that,” Penny warns.

She won’t be meek. Not when it comes to Betty.

“Whatever,” he picks up the bag by the door, starts for his car. “Come get her when you’re done, got it?”

“Trust me, I will.”

Maybe it’s better that Betty doesn’t spend _too much_ time with her father.

Her daughter is still wailing, red faced, fat tears streaming down her cheeks. Hal jostles her, holds her to his shoulder, yells at her to _stop._

And then Betty’s reaching out one chubby little hand, _to her._

_“Mama!”_

She’s not even four months old, and she’s just said her first word.

Hal stops in his tracks.

“What did you just say?”

 _“Mama!”_ Betty says again, desperately reaching for her. _“Mama!”_

Penny gives in to her need to hold her baby in her arms.

“That’s right!” She exclaims, and then she’s crying too. Tears of joy. “Mama’s right here, baby.”

Hal is glaring at her, but she pays him little mind. Betty just said her first word.

_And it was mama._

Betty’s not crying anymore.

“I don’t need this,” Hal grumbles.

He gets into his expensive little sports car, slams the door, speeds off.

She’s not disappointed in the slightest. After all, she and Betty don’t need them, they only need each other.

* * *

FP doesn’t say anything about the baby strapped to her front in a carrier, he merely helps her unbuckle it from her shoulders, fastens it to his own so he’s the one carrying Betty.

He does, however, catch her chin with gentle fingers, tilting her face upwards to get a better look at her lip.

He shoots her a stern look, and she knows some Serpents will be paying Hal a visit a little later on. She doesn’t protest.

* * *

“You’re... Penny, right?”

She nods once, hands a Serpent with the unfortunate nickname of Shark Tooth his usual scotch on the rocks before finally turning to face the dark eyed woman.

Pamela Topaz.

She’s the wife to a Serpent, Henry, a boy Penny used to know pretty well until her mother decided to send her to school on the Northside along with FP. They got married earlier in the year, and she’s sure that Pamela is a regular at the Wyrm along with Henry, but Penny hasn’t been hanging around the bar lately, preferring to spend her nights at home with her daughter.

They live right across the street, she realizes, though she’s never been very neighborly.

“Hi Pam,” she greets awkwardly. She’s never been much of a people person, especially since everything with Hal. She can’t trust anyone. Even the Serpents. Or so she thinks. “Can I get you anything?”

“No, I...” Pamela trails off, and Penny follows her line of sight to where FP stands in the center of the bar, Betty no longer strapped to his chest, but cradled in his arms, fast asleep in a bar full of people that are trying to stay quiet. “Is that your little girl?”

Penny nods again, a smile tugging at the ends of her lips. She’s so proud of Betty, so fucking proud.

“Elizabeth, right?”

“Betty,” she corrects, still smiling.

“She’s beautiful,”

“Thank you,” Penny says, and she means it. “and how’s your little one doing... Antoinette, right?”

“Toni,” Pamela laughs. “my little tom boy. She’s great, just a few months younger than Forsyth.”

“Jughead,”

“I’m sorry?”

“Forsyth,” she’s trying to hold back her laughter, because FP is looking at her now and scowling. He’s not very fond of his son’s self-appointed nickname. “He uh... he prefers Jughead.”

* * *

The conversation just begins to flow.

When Betty wakes up, and needs a bottle, Pamela is the one to give it to her, despite FP’s insistence that _he knows how to feed a baby._

They talk about their daughters, the highs and lows of raising their children in Riverdale. If Pamela notices her fat lip, she doesn’t comment on it, and for that, Penny is once again grateful.

* * *

“I’ve decided to go back to work,” Pamela announces, nearly an hour later.

She’s getting ready to close the bar down. Most of the Serpents are heading out, and Betty is sound asleep in her new friend’s arm.

 _Her friend._ It’s a strange thing for her to admit.

“Really?” Penny wipes the counter down. “That’s great! I just went back to work too, obviously, but...”

Pamela reaches out, takes her hand.

“What’s wrong Penny?”

She sighs, not quite believing she’s about to spill her guts to a total stranger.

“Pamela, I don’t know what the fuck I’m gonna do.”

* * *

They stay well past closing time.

FP seems to understand, reminds her to lock up on her way out. The look on his face as he traces a finger across a sleeping Betty’s cheek tells her that he’s ‘going to be the one paying Hal a visit.

She doesn’t mind.

He’s a good friend.

* * *

Pamela makes _her_ a drink, promises verbally not to judge her. Penny takes her daughter back, stares down at her in awe, admits aloud that she can’t believe she made something so _perfect._

* * *

“You got any plans during the day?”

She shakes her head.

“I work from eight to four,” Pamela tells her, giving her hand a long squeeze. “And I know you work from about seven to midnight, so... maybe we can help each other out?”

* * *

And that’s how she ends up watching Toni five days a week, in addition to her own daughter.

She doesn’t mind.

Toni is a good girl, as precious as her own daughter. Penny quickly grows to love her.

Betty is more than fine staying with Henry and Pamela. Sometimes, she watches them through the window, how the two parents interact with both girls, never favoring one for the other. Even on nights she _doesn’t_ have to work, they still get together for dinner, movie nights, or for a simple glass of wine.

In a matter of weeks, the Topaz’s become extended family.

* * *

Bartending isn’t enough to pay the bills.

It’s FP who sits her down, along with Pamela and Henry, reminds her how smart she is, tells her that she has the chance to _make something of herself._

They need someone like her on their side, he says.

And that’s how she ends up agreeing to go to Law School.

* * *

Life is busier than ever.

She’s got classes, more homework than she ever had in high school. She spends her days chasing after a toddler and a baby that is crawling far too early, her nights either in class or at the Wyrm to try and make ends meet.

Hal isn’t around, but FP, Henry, Pamela, Jughead, Toni and Betty are, and despite the chaos, she’s never been happier.

* * *

She helps FP with baby Forsythia when Gladys becomes even more distant.

And it’s her fault that Forsythia becomes known as _Jellybean_ , because she says something about the sticky candy and Jughead happens to like the way it sounds.


	4. Love Of My Life

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story is somehow therapeutic.
> 
> Just because I was asked in the last chapter, Penny and FP's relationship is by no means meant to be romantic! I can totally see where that might come across, but here, they are just very good friends. Any romantic relationship will be left for their children.
> 
> Thank you so much for reading! :)

* * *

Law school is a bitch.

When she’s not studying her ass off, she’s bartending to make ends meet. She returns late every night, retrieves Betty from a tired looking, but very much still happy go lucky Henry, feeds her daughter, and puts her to bed.

She should be studying, but sometimes, like tonight, she stands in the doorway, watches her baby sleeping peacefully, reminds herself that this is all for _her._

* * *

On Sunday’s, Penny doesn’t work, doesn’t study, just spends the entire day with her daughter. It’s the best day of her week.

* * *

Betty’s hair grows like a week, and by the time she’s seven months old, she has a head full of curls that are hard to manage.

She doesn’t know shit about hair, so she turns to someone who does.

Pamela teaches her how to braid, using a squirming Toni as a model, how to do ponytails, how to put a bow on her hair even though Toni _hates_ bows and ribbons and always throws them off when she knows her mother isn’t looking.

Betty isn’t like that.

She’s surprisingly still the first time Penny manages a single braid, babbles happily, leaves it in for the rest of the day.

* * *

She’s learning more words.

It’s Sunday again, around seven o’clock in the morning, and she’s still in bed, blankets curled around her.

Just as Penny thinks she _might_ get to sleep in, she hears a loud _hi!_ from the room directly across from her own.

She’s on her feet in seconds, pushing open Betty’s partially closed door, finds the beaming crawler standing up in her crib, hands gripping the wooden rail to support her weight.

_“Mama!”_ She says, elated.

“Baby,” Penny returns, just as happily. She lifts Betty up, settles her on her hip, smiles when her arms are immediately around her neck in a long squeeze. “Betty, honey, did you just say...”

Betty pulls back, looks her in the eye like she knows _exactly_ what’s going on, and says it again.

_“Hi!”_

She can’t help but laugh, holding her daughter a little closer.

“Hi baby!”

* * *

Toni becomes _T_ , claps her hands in glee whenever Betty calls her that. Jughead is _Juh_ , and she can’t quite pronounce Jellybean’s name yet.

FP somehow becomes _Feep._ He laughs so hard, he cries any time she says it, picks her up to toss her in the air like he does with his own kids, tells Penny that she’s got a very smart little girl, and she has to agree.

The word _dada_ or daddy never makes it into her growing vocabulary, but Betty doesn’t seem to mind.

* * *

Ha’s around, and then he’s not.

It’s confusing, a little inconvenient, but Penny does her best to fill the gap she knows he’s leaving.

Some of the Serpent men might be cons or ex-cons. She doesn’t care. They love her daughter, and in Penny’s eyes, they’re better father figures than Hal could ever be.

* * *

Gladys starts drinking heavily.

FP is frustrated, overwhelmed with two kids under the age of two, still in diapers.

Penny takes Jughead and Jellybean whenever she can.

Fred Andrews and his wife Mary are there suddenly with a son of their own, Archie, a little boy with hair as bright as his father’s. Archie is rambunctious, and despite the fast developing friendship between him and Jughead, there are times where young Jughead makes it clear that his loyalty is more with Toni and Betty.

Especially her daughter.

If Archie gets too close to Betty with a toy, Jughead knocks it away. If he’s being too loud when she’s trying to take a nap, he smacks him.

Penny can’t bear to put him in time out for it.

* * *

Mary Andrews is a very kind woman. She cares about all of the children, that, Penny can tell.

Fred makes it clear to the start that he and Hal are _not_ friends, allowing a fragile friendship to form between them instead.

It’s nice, she thinks, seeing parents working together to raise their kids.

* * *

Sometimes she thinks Hal might actually be trying.

He buys her a giant teddy teddy bear that she likes to crawl all over, tells her how smart she is when she says the word _bear._

He also gives Penny money, unofficial child support, he calls it, and offers to take Betty for the night so she can have a well-deserved night off.

She’s been working _so hard._

She’s hesitant at first, and why shouldn’t she be? The father of her child, who never _acted_ like the father of her child, _wants_ to act like the father of her child since the first time her child came into the world nearly a year before.

But the way he’s looking at her... she sees a glimmer of the boy she first fell for, the one that was kind, the one that used to tell her how beautiful she was, how lucky _he_ was to have her, tell her how special she was.

Penny’s always believed that he could be that man again. It’s too late for them, too much has happened.

It’s not too late for him to be a good father to Betty, however.

So against her better judgment, Penny agrees.

* * *

She goes to a bar in Riverdale with Pamela, Mary, Helen Fogarty, whose son is just a few months younger than Jughead, and a few other female Serpents she’s gotten to know since the birth of her daughter.

She’s having a great time.

Until she sees Hal in the corner of the bar, getting drunk with several men she doesn’t recognize.

* * *

She’s on him in a flash, pushing against his chest so hard, he stumbles back.

“The fuck?” He slurs, raising a hand to hit her back.

Penny sidesteps him, grabs him by the front of his stupid polo shirt, pins him to the table, his friends quickly backing away.

“Where is she?” She cries. “Where the fuck is my daughter?”

“Get the fuck off of me,” Hal grumbles, freeing himself from her grasp. “Calm the fuck down Penny, she’s with my mother. She’s _fine.”_

But she’s not fine. She can’t be.

Penny remembers Irene Blossom all too well, the woman she knew would never accept her relationship with Hal. Horrible. Vindictive. Almost abusive.

And her baby girl was there _right now._

Irene believes the sun rises and sets on Hal. She thinks that Penny and _her people_ are the scum of the earth.

Betty is half Blossom, but she’s also a Peabody, which means she’ll never be safe in the home of her grandmother.

Penny runs out of the bar.

* * *

Pamela calls FP, Mary calls Fred.

They show up in Fred’s beat up old truck, pick her up on the side of the road, drive to Thornhill, where the rest of the Blossom family resides.

* * *

She can hear Betty’s cries all the way from the street.

She runs, _runs_ , pushes past FP and Fred, bangs against the door with her fist.

Penelope Blossom, the adoptive daughter of the Blossom family, answers, nose crinkling as she prepares to utter some sort of insult.

Penny knocks her aside.

In the living room, her baby is lying on a couch, wearing some god awful pink frilly dress, welts on the backs of her bare legs.

She’s wailing.

“Get _away_ from her!”

Penny pushes her back, grabs Betty in the same second, cradles her screaming daughter to her shoulder.

“She had an accident,” Irene sneers. “She ruined the dress.”

“She’s _eight months old,_ you stupid bitch!” She snaps.

Hal appears beside Penelope. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing, Penny?”

“I’m taking my daughter.”

_“Your_ daughter?”

“Yes Hal, _my_ daughter,” Penny hisses. Betty stops crying for some reason, but it does little to lessen her anger. “I’ve been on my own with her since the day she was born. She’s _mine.”_

“The hell she is-”

“The hell she isn’t!” She snaps. Fred and FP are waiting for her, just outside. “She’ll never step foot in this forsaken place again, mark my words. If... if you wanna see her, then you’ll have to go to court, because as of right now, she is not a Blossom, she is not your daughter, she isn’t that bitch’s granddaughter. She’s _mine.”_

Penny presses a cool hand to her daughter’s leg, trying to soothe the sting of the multiple welts against her fair skin.

_She_ did this. She let this happen.

And she fucking hates herself for it.

But then Betty is reaching out for her, throwing her arms around her neck in the same tight squeeze she gives her every morning when they first wake up.

_Mama._ She says mama again.

It’s almost like...

Betty is trying to say that she forgives her, though that can’t be true. How can her daughter ever possibly forgive her when she’ll never forgive herself.

“Pen,” FP jerks his thumb over his shoulder, towards the truck. “Let’s get the fuck out of here.”

Penny nods once, starts to follow him out.

Hal tries to grab her arm, ready to fight again.

Fred grabs him by the throat, forces him against the all.

“Leave her the fuck alone,” he warns, gently urging Penny forward. “Leave them both the fuck alone.”

* * *

The drive back to the Southside is almost too silent. Until FP breaks it.

“What are you gonna do Pen?”

Betty sleeps soundly against her chest. She should be in a car seat, but Penny can’t bear the thought of letting her go.

“What I should have done in the first place,” she mumbles. “I’m taking that son of a bitch to court.”

* * *

And that’s how Mary Andrews becomes her lawyer, free of charge. Penny can’t thank her enough.

* * *

“It is the opinion of the court that Elizabeth should _not_ be left alone with her father, or any of the other Blossom family members, therefore I am denying Mr. Blossom’s petition for joint custody. Sole and physical custody is awarded to her mother, Penny Anne Peabody, but Harold Timothy Blossom will be allowed supervised visitation with Elizabeth at her mother, Ms. Peabody’s discretion.”

* * *

It’s not exactly what she wanted, but it’s better than nothing.

Hal misses almost all of his time with Betty, but Betty never seems to miss him.

* * *

Her baby girl starts walking at ten months.

It’s a huge surprise. During a bonfire for the Serpents, celebrating the last few days of warmer weather, Betty, settled firmly on her hip,, sees Jughead, Toni and some of the other children running around, and starts to get impatient.

_“Mama,”_ she whines, and points to her friends.

“Just a second baby,” Penny promises, and sets her on her feet, intending to hold her hands so she can at least join in on some of the fun.

Betty takes off running.

Penny nearly falls over from shock. Henry and Pamela are quick to steady her, laughing fondly as they all exchange a very similar look.

_How can she be walking?_

If Jughead and Toni are surprised, they don’t show it, moving to stand on either side of her, taking hold of her hands to keep her steady.

It’s only a minute or two before Betty is running back to her for a hug. Throwing her arms around Penny’s legs, she gives her a long squeeze and goes off in search of her friends.

Penny can only watch her go.

She’s proud. So _fucking_ proud.

This little girl is amazing. The best thing that ever happened to her.

And she’ll do every damn thing she can to protect her from every bad thing in this world.


	5. Tiny Dancer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back! Hopefully not to be gone for so long ever again, but hey, life.
> 
> Really guys, I am SOOOOO sorry for the hiatus. I hate not being able to update :(
> 
> I love all my stories, don't get me wrong, but there's something about this one, maybe that it's more fluff than angst, and that's always needed.
> 
> Thank you so much for reading! :)

* * *

Betty’s eleven months old to the day when Penny realizes one thing.

Her daughter loves to dance.

She plays music from the old radio above the stove while she does the dishes, thinks about redoing the kitchen, realizes that she needs _money_ for the kitchen.

Betty deserves better than this.

But then her little girl is dancing, stomping one foot, twirling around, holding out both hands for Penny to join her.

Betty makes life so much better. Penny hopes she knows that.

So Penny takes her by the hands, swings her through the air until the both get dizzy, laughs as Betty’s arms wrap around her neck in a tight squeeze.

Her daughter loves to dance, and there’s only one thing she can do.

* * *

But dance lessons are _fucking_ expensive.

* * *

She tries to tell Pamela _no_ , several times in fact, but the woman that has pretty much become her best friend, and she does not use that word lightly after spending the first nineteen years of her life actively trying to be alone, will not take _no_ for an answer.

Pamela calls it compensation, for the one-to-two weekends a month she takes Toni overnight while she and Henry travel for work.

It can hardly be considered compensation when half the clothes in Betty’s closet either once belonged to Toni, or was bought by Pamela when she went shopping _for_ Toni.

Penny can’t thank her enough.

It’s still hard, watching her friend pay for both their girls to start ballet, but the stern look on Pamela’s face has her biting her tongue.

She’ll find some way to pay them back.

* * *

The day of her first lesson, Penny tries to put Betty into one of several newly purchased leotards. The second she sees it, she starts screaming.

She’s confused at first, but pays it little mind. Bett’s almost one, and it’s not uncommon for toddlers to throw tantrums, though she’s been pretty lucky in that Betty’s has been far and few between.

Penny tries, fails miserably to get her daughter dressed. Her face is red, cheeks tear stained. She’s gotten Penny in the face with her foot at least twice, and she’s _screaming_ bloody murder, _no mama, no_.

It’s upsetting, enough to make the strongest person break. She can’t bear to see her daughter in pain.

And then it hits her.

The leotard. It’s pink.

_There’s no way she can remember that._

She was only eight months old the night Irene Blossom stuck her while she was wearing that disgusting pink dress.

But Betty is smart. She knows what she likes, knows what she doesn’t. At eleven months old, she’s a better judge of character than Penny could ever hope to be.

So Penny bunches up the stupid pink leotard, with its cute little tutu, and tosses it into the trash can beside her changing table. She gets another one, blue, manages to get her baby dressed.

Betty stops crying.

Tears are forming in her own eyes at the memory of the welts against Betty’s fair skin.

She won’t let that bitch, or her bastard son, Betty’s father or not, lay another hand on her daughter.

If Betty doesn’t want to wear pink, she doesn’t have to wear pink.

* * *

She sets Betty up on the bathroom counter, manages to tame her wild curls into a sensible ponytail, complete with a little blue scrunchie.

Penny has to take another picture.

She looks so _fucking_ cute in her white tights, blue leotard, puffy white tutu, the perfect ballerina.

Penny’s never been much of a religious person, but she takes a moment to thank god for her beautiful little girl.

Betty is the only good thing that has ever happened to her.

She won’t screw this up.

* * *

A month shy from her first birthday, and her eleven-month-old is the only one paying attention in class.

She sits beside Pamela and Henry, watches in awe. Pamela has her video camera out, and Penny just knows that the next time she sees the Topaz’s, there will have been a copy made for her.

Toni is doing her best. The other children are milling around.

Betty is following the teacher’s moves precisely, and when she nails it, she beams.

Her daughter is going to be a dancer.

* * *

Life gets even more hectic.

Her home is more or less a daycare during the morning hours. She trades off days with Mary Andrews so she can get some homework done, misses Betty every time that she’s gone.

Her dance class is only once a week, not coinciding with her classes, but a night she’s supposed to be at the bar. FP is very lenient when it comes to her daughter.

They have a new morning tradition, her and Betty, one that Penny looks forward to from the moment her baby girl’s eyes first open.

They dance in the kitchen, the old radio playing. Happy songs, sad sad, love songs, break up songs, new songs, old songs, in between songs, it doesn’t matter. Betty unleashes her best moves, and they’re not all pirouettes and _grande jeté’s_.

Her laugher bounces off the thin walls of their tiny home as Penny lifts her up, spins her around until she can’t see straight. Sometimes, if she’s not careful to grab her, Betty topples to the floor, still shrinking with laughter.

It’s the best sound she’s ever heard.

* * *

So yes, life is crazy, filled with kids, homework, shifts at the bar, and Betty’s ever growing love of dance, but Penny wouldn’t have it any other way.

Time is going by so fast, Betty’s first birthday sneaks up on her.

* * *

She’s scrambling to put a party together, but money is tight, and Penny has never had to plan anything for anyone before.

She wants Betty to have the whole fucking world.

It’s like everyone around her can sense the tension, the stress. She’s a single mother, trying to give her daughter a great party, even though there’s a greater than 99.9% chance she won’t remember any of it.

FP offers up the Wyrm, free of charge.

Realistically, the last place a child’s birthday should is a dusty old bar, but Jughead’s first birthday was held there, as was Toni’s, and she can only imagine that when it’s Jellybean’s turn, she too, will celebrate turning one amongst the rest of the Serpents.

_The Serpents._

In unity, there is strength. It’s more or less the Serpent motto, the jacket they all wear, the tattoos permanently inked across her skin, a mark she knows her daughter could very well wear one day as well.

The Serpents are family. She’s not alone. Not anymore. She has to remember that.

With a genuine smile, Penny happily accepts, sends out the invitations made by Mary Andrews, free of charge, each appearing like a butterfly.

Mary knows Betty well, and for that and so much more, Penny respects the hell out of her.

Betty loves butterflies, they fascinate her. Penny makes a mental note to add more butterfly décor to her nursery.

 _Nursery._ Now that she’s walking, she’s going to need a big girl bed eventually.

Penny dabs at her eye with a tissue Mary hands her.

Her baby girl is growing up.

* * *

She’s being kind, she tells herself, in sending Hal an invitation.

He doesn’t respond. She’s not surprised.

If he doesn’t want to come to his own daughter’s birthday, fuck him. Betty deserves better.

So Penny will be better, do better, do anything for that blonde haired, blue eyed little girl that she loves more than life itself.

* * *

Pamela swings by the bar after work for a quick drink.

A single thought hits her hard.

“Pammy,”

“Yeah?”

“What the fuck am I supposed to get her?”


	6. The Greatest Gift

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! :)

* * *

It takes hours.

But _what the fuck is she supposed to get a one year old?_

It’s hard enough, knowing her baby girl is about to be one. It seems like only yesterday Penny held Betty in her arms for the very first time. Now she’s walking, talking more and more every day.

Betty’s growing up, and somehow Penny’s just supposed to be okay with that.

She never thought she’d be the kind of mother to get weepy over her daughter’s first steps, first word, first dance, everything, but then again, she never thought she would be a _mother._

She’s very happy to be proven wrong.

Because, in case she doesn’t say it enough, Betty is the greatest thing that ever happened to her, and while it is slightly heartbreaking that her baby isn’t so much of a baby anymore, Penny can’t wait to see what her daughter is going to do next.

_But what the fuck is she supposed to get a one year old for her birthday?_

She doesn’t _need_ any more tutus, she only dances once a week, and while there’s already a couple of outfits in the cart she’s pushing aisle to aisle, she doesn’t just want to buy _clothes_ for her daughter’s birthday.

She wants Betty to have the world.

She’s been saving up for weeks to buy her the perfect present.

Whatever that may be.

She finds a few books that she knows she’ll end up reading over and over again, because if there’s one thing Betty loves, it’s repetition, but books aren’t that perfect present either.

Pamela’s doing the best she can with suggestions, though the things she finds aren’t exactly Betty, and she seems to know that.

“Whatever you get her, she’ll love,” Pamela offers, utterly exhausted.

Penny snorts kindly in response, keeps walking.

And then she sees it.

It’s a doll, blonde hair, yellow dress, black headband, blue eyes.

And it looks _just_ like her little girl.

As she reaches for it, gingerly lifting it off the shelf, Pamela smiles.

“She’s going to love it,”

* * *

She lets Betty pick what she wants to wear to her party.

It’s another shopping trip, just the two of them. As much as she loves her girls days with Pamela and Toni, Toni has a dentist appointment that can’t be missed.

The party is in one day. Betty needs something to wear.

And she can have whatever the fuck she wants.

Betty’s squirming, so Penny puts her down, keeps a firm grip on her hand so she doesn’t get _too_ far. They’ve already had a little... _incident_ at the grocery store because Betty wanted to follow an older man with a cute guide dog the second her back was turned.

She’s not risking that feeling of panic again. She has no idea what she would do if she ever lost her child for real.

Betty’s babbling, smiling at everyone they pass, and she’d be lying if she said that she’s not filled with pride every time she hears the word _mama._

Daddy still hasn’t made it into her vocabulary. Penny doesn’t blame her. Betty’s father or not, Hal is a bastard, and they don’t need him.

They never did.

 _“Mama,”_ Betty’s mesmerized by the racks of clothing made in her size. _“Pretty!”_

“Very pretty,” Penny agrees with a grin. “and you can have whichever one you want, baby.”

Her daughter is a day away from being one, and while she probably _shouldn’t,_ Penny knows that somehow, Betty understands every single thing she says. She’s that smart.

* * *

Betty actually takes her time.

She’s kind of dreading her daughter’s teenage years, watching as Betty makes her way through the aisle, still holding her hand tightly, carefully eyeing every dress, skirt, shirt and pants.

She shies away from anything pink. Penny still doesn’t blame her. She doesn’t make Betty wear anything pink anymore.

Suddenly, she stops in front of a dark blue dress with a pleated front and a huge bow in the back.

Betty smiles.

Penny takes the hint, pulls it from the rack, holds it to her daughter’s height.

Betty’s _beaming_ now.

“Is this the one you want, baby?”

She nods happily.

Penny examines it a little closer.

It’s pretty, with a puffy skirt, but it’s also sleeveless, more of a summer dress.

 _“Mama,”_ Betty says. _“Pretty!”_

If she wants a sleeveless dress, _she can have a sleeveless dress._ She can have anything she wants, always and forever.

* * *

Betty sleeps in till nine, naps from noon to almost one thirty, smiles as Penny dresses her up in her brand new dress, a pair of frilly white tights and little white shoes.

She puts a bow in her daughter’s hair that matches the blue of the dress.

Betty looks beautiful, and as she smiles, wraps her arms tightly around Penny’s leg in a long hug, Penny knows it’s going to be a great day.

* * *

Pamela and Mary offer to decorate, insist she spend the _entire_ day with her daughter.

Penny was right to trust them.

The Wyrm is nearly unrecognizable, streamers tacked to the wall, tables set so eloquently, if she didn’t know any better, she’d say that the room was a fancy meeting hall rather than a bar for the Southside’s fearsome gang.

Butterflies are _everywhere_ , on the napkins, plates, party hats for the kids to wear, even a giant butterfly pinata. Betty loves butterflies, so it only makes sense that her birthday party is butterfly themed.

 _“Mama!”_ Betty’s bouncing up and down on her hip, eyes lit up at the very sight of everything.

Penny simply smiles, kisses the top of her head.

“Happy birthday beautiful girl,”

* * *

The party is everything she could have asked for.

Everyone is there. Well, o everyone. Anyone that matters. Serpents, young and old, their spouses, partners, boyfriends, girlfriends, children, the Andrews, even Tom Keller, whose son Kevin plays with Betty when she’s with Fred and Mary _(they’re very careful to keep her from Hal, who lives next door, as much as it pains Penny to allow her daughter to go anywhere near her father.)_ Penny’s not Tom’s biggest fan, what, with the way he treated her in high school and her disastrous relationship with Hal, but Betty seems happy to see Kevin, so Penny bites her tongue, because today, just like every day, is about her little girl.

* * *

Hal shows up.

Betty’s being passed around from Serpent to Serpent, loving the attention, when he walks in, another large, _pink_ teddy bear tucked under his arm.

Penny’s already starting towards him, Pamela and Mary at her heels.

She crosses her arms. “You came,”

“Fuck off Penny,” Hal snaps. He glances around the room in disgust, doesn’t relax even when he catches sight of Betty, laughing her head off. “Like I’d miss _my_ daughter’s birthday.”

The more selfish part of her wants to point out that he doesn’t have the right to be so possessive. She can count on one hand how many times he’s been alone with the baby. It isn’t a lot.

If anyone deserves to be possessive, it’s _her._ Maybe that sounds stupid, immature, but it’s also the truth, isn’t it? Betty is _her_ child, her light, her life. Based off Hal’s current track record, Betty needs one stable parent in her life, and it’s going to be her.

So she’ll be a single parent for the rest of her life, who cares? Hal has only ever done her one real act of kindness, and that was giving her Betty.

“Elizabeth,” Hal croons. “Come to daddy, sweetheart.”

Betty’s smart enough to know what her real name is, Penny’s said it often enough with a teasing tone. Following the sound of her father’s voice, she sees him, and immediately shrikes.

It’s not a happy sound.

She looks like she wants to run to Penny, but because Penny is still standing beside Hal, she just stands there and begins to cry.

FP passes Jellybean, not quite ready to walk, over to Fred, swoops in and lifts her up.

 _“Feep!”_ Betty sounds relieved, throwing her arms around his neck.

He holds her like he’d hold his own kids, muttering something Penny can’t quite catch. She still respects the hell out of him.

Hal is dumbfounded.

He takes a step towards them, just one, but Betty lets out another sob, tightens her grip on FP, who shakes his head in a warning.

_Don’t come any fucking closer._

Penny wholeheartedly agrees.

Hal’s smart enough to realize that kids are around. Mumbling some _not nice words_ under his breath, he glares at Penny like it’s her fault, knocks into her on his way out.

“Yeah,” Penny grumbles, as Pamela and Mary are quick to steady her. “I _did_ think you were gonna miss your daughter’s birthday.”

FP carries Betty over to her. She isn’t crying anymore.

 _“Mama!”_ She says happily, stretching her arms out towards her.

Penny laughs, pulling her close.

“That’s right,” she replies, smoothing her daughter’s hair back. “Mama’s here baby, mama’s always gonna be here.”

* * *

She doesn’t know who started the tradition, she joined the Serpents when she was fifteen, and on her birthday, there was a party all arranged by Regan, and they ended the night with cake, presents, and wishes from the rest of the family.

Betty’s birthday is no different.

It’s no surprise that her cake is shaped like a butterfly. Blue, her favorite color.

Jughead, Toni and Archie are standing behind her. At two years old, they’re all a little more experienced when it comes to birthdays, so they help her blow out the candles.

All of a sudden, Jughead is cradling her face, pressing his lips to hers in a quick, congratulatory kiss.

FP captures the moment on video, looks horrified. “Jughead, _no-”_

Penny can’t help it. She starts cackling. They’re too fucking cute.

Jughead is beaming as they pull away, Betty giggles happily, Toni looks disgusted, and Archie’s eyes are glued to the cake.

* * *

Penny helps Betty open her presents, saves hers for last. She gets toys, books, clothes, nothing pink, because her real family knows her inside and out.

Jughead’s present is second to last.

“Picked this out himself,” FP vows, raising his hands in surrender. “I tried to talk him into getting her a bouncy ball or something.”

It’s a small box, hastily wrapped in what is simply the Jones way. She’s patient as Betty tears at the silver paper.

Inside is a sterling silver, heart shaped locket. She stares at FP for a few moments.

There’s no way it was cheap.

And then she sees Jughead, gaze locked onto Betty.

He loves her daughter, she can already tell.

So gingerly, she lifts the chain from its wrapping, carefully hooks it around her daughter’s neck.

“Look baby, pretty,”

 _“Pretty!”_ Betty echoes.

Penny puts her down, watches with pride as she wraps her arms around FP’s legs. She hugs Jughead next, and it’s a pretty long squeeze. Sweetly, she drops a slightly slobbery kiss to the top of Jellybean’s head.

Betty loves the Jones family, and Penny doesn’t blame her one little bit.

* * *

She sees the doll, immediately wraps her arms around it, holds onto it for the rest of the night.

Penny’s not sure if she knows who gave her the doll, but as the Serpents begin to take the stage, offering well wishes for the next year of her daughter’s life, Betty climbs onto her lap, tugs her face down so they’re the same height, kisses her cheeks over and over.

Penny feels tears coming to her eyes.

 _God,_ she loves her daughter.

* * *

Her toast to Betty is the last one of the night.

FP beckons her forward, so she shifts her exhausted little girl to Pamela, and Betty is happy to go to her. The Topaz’s are surrogate parents to her, extended family that she’s more than comfortable with.

Hands shaking, she takes the stage, stares out at everyone that has come to celebrate her daughter.

_What else can she say?_

They’ve all spoken about how bright she is, how beautiful, how _good_ , and it’s the truth. Betty is, well... everything.

So that’s what she says.

“A year ago, I held you for the very first time,” she lets the tears fall. “and it was the absolute _best_ moment of my life, Elizabeth Peabody. Before you came along, I didn’t know it was possible to love anything so much. I don’t think...”

Penny tries to swallow the lump in her throat.

“I don’t think you’ll ever understand just how much I love you,” she whispers. “Happy birthday, my beautiful girl. Mama loves you, so, so much.”

Maybe she’ll never understand, because Penny doesn’t know if she’ll ever be able to explain it to her. Betty is her _life_ , it’s as simple as that.

But then Betty is squirming to get down, so Pamela lets her go. Her little girl runs up the steps leading to the old stage, thrusts her arms up so Penny can lift her into the air.

The second she does, her circulation is nearly cut off by her daughter throwing her arms around her neck in a very long squeeze.

 _“Mama,”_ Betty sighs happily.

Maybe she does know.

Maybe Betty is the only one who will _ever_ understand, because by the way Betty is embracing her, Penny knows that her daughter loves her just as much.


	7. Never Grow Up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! :)

* * *

Life...

Just gets a little crazier.

And time...

It’s moving a little too quickly.

Her baby is almost two, and she doesn’t quite know how that’s possible. There’s more dance classes now law school is still a bitch, and Hal isn’t around much. And by much, she means _ever._

That’s fine. Penny doesn’t need him.

Maybe Betty does, but she doesn’t seem very lost without his presence, so Penny doesn’t know what to think.

* * *

Betty has a toy that sings the alphabet song over and _over_ again, and then all of a sudden, her daughter knows her ABC’s.

So Penny decides to teach her how to spell her name.

They sit at the table after dinner, in between homework, bath time and bed time, with a few letter puzzles in front of them.

“Can you find the _B_ , baby?”

She finds the _B_ , an _E_ , the two _T’s_ and finally, a Y, puts them together, and begins to spell it out.

 _“B-E-T-T-Y!”_ Betty cries, clapping her hands together. “I’m Betty!”

Penny wants to cry.

Her little girl is very smart.

Penny’s so proud of her.

So she praises her, rewards her with maybe a little too much ice cream, but then Betty is curled up on her lap, ready to fall asleep, tells Penny how much she loves her.

“Kid,” she laughs. “You have no idea.”

* * *

Her second birthday is much like the first, butterfly themed, the Wyrm, the Serpents, the Andrews, the Keller’s, but no Hal.

Betty doesn’t ask about him. No one does.

Penny is so relieved.

* * *

She loves dance.

Toni doesn’t, but her mommy still makes her go, and Betty tries not to laugh at the faces her very best friend makes behind the teacher’s back.

Something big is happening, something her own mommy, and a lot of other mommies have been trying to prepare the entire dance class for. It involves poofier tutus than usual, a lot more practice, and she also has a special part she gets to do all by herself.

She thinks Ms. Katrina calls it a...

_Solo._

Betty doesn’t know what that word means, but when her teacher talks to her mommy, her mommy smiles like she’s the proudest mommy in the world, picks Betty up to twirl her around, makes her laugh the entire ride home.

* * *

Her baby has her first solo, and she’s only two.

Costumes aren’t cheap, but she makes it work.

Betty practices. A lot. No one asks her to, no one expects it from her, but every time Penny seems to look at her little girl, she’s practicing her dance.

She likes to dance with Angela. The doll Penny gave her for her first birthday finally has a name of her own. Angela Anne Peabody.

Anne is Penny’s middle name.

It’s a pretty high compliment in her eyes, knowing that the doll her daughter takes everywhere, can’t sleep without, cries if she can’t find it for some reason, has been named after her.

They’re sitting at the table one morning, finishing up breakfast, when Betty mumbles something about wishing Angela could be a ballerina too.

Her little girl can have anything she wants in this world, so long as Penny is around.

She doesn’t know how to sew, so she asks Pamela and Mary for a few pointers. Eventually, she’s able to make an Angela sized tutu.

Betty’s eyes light up when she sees it.

It’s worth the band aids wrapped around several of her fingers, bleeding from that stupidly sharp needle.

She throws her skinny arms around Penny’s legs in a long squeeze.

“I love you mommy!”

* * *

It’s just her luck that the day of Betty’s recital, she has a huge test.

There’s only one semester left after this, just a few more months of late nights, either studying or working at the bar to try and make ends meet, a few more months of stress, and tears she never lets her daughter see.

There are still nights where she sneaks into Betty’s room, watches her sleep soundly in her crib, and other than thinking that her baby is going to need a _big girl bed_ soon, she reminds herself that everything she’s doing is for that beautiful little girl.

Sometimes the only thing she can afford for the two of them to eat for dinner is Mac n’ Cheese. Even if it’s Betty’s favorite, she wants her to have better than that.

Hal sends money. Sometimes. Can’t even be bothered to see Betty more than every couple of months. Every cent of it goes towards her daughter.

She can’t miss the test, but she flies through it, leaves Betty with Henry, Pamela and Toni, finishes the lengthy test in less than forty-five minutes, drives over the speed limit to get to the show.

* * *

Her mommy isn’t there yet.

She’s in her costume, happy it isn’t pink, but her hair is a mess, and Ms. Pammy can’t help her, because Toni is throwing a fit over her own hair.

She really doesn’t like to dance.

Betty sighs sadly, plays with the silver heart hanging around her neck. Jughead gave it to her. She never takes it off.

She misses her mommy.

Daddy is never around. Mr. Henry, Mr. Andrews, FP, even Sheriff Keller are all there. A lot of her mommy’s friends are boys, but daddy isn’t one of them.

She doesn’t really miss him though.

Her daddy is mean, tries to call her _Lizzie_ when her name is _clearly_ Betty, makes her wear pink even though she hates pink, and usually makes her mommy cry when they get together.

She always thinks about biting him, but she knows mommy wouldn’t be happy about that.

A pair of hands cover her eyes.

“Guess who,” a familiar voice whispers in her ear.

A smile breaks out across her face.

_“Mommy!”_

Her mommy is all smiles as Betty throws her arms around her waist, stands up on the chair so they’re almost the same size.

“There’s my little prima ballerina,” she kisses her forehead, picks her up, spins her around and sets her back in the chair, reaching for a comb. “Now, let’s tame this wild mess, shall we?”

* * *

Everyone is there.

The Serpents are many things, tough, protective, but they are also very loyal, loving, and she couldn’t ask for a better family for her daughter to grow up in.

She sits in between Pamela and FP, holds Jellybean when she stretches her arms out towards Penny. Gladys is an emotionally distant parent, so Penny tries to shower both Jughead and Jellybean with a little extra affection whenever she sees them.

The tiny dancers take the stage.

She spots Betty right away, her blonde haired, blue eyed little girl.

Toni, however, is nowhere to be found.

Pamela gets up in a hurry, goes in search of her. When she returns, she’s laughing, Toni is covered in donut dust, and Pamela tiredly announces that she isn’t going to make her daughter dance anymore.

Toni _really_ hates dancing.

* * *

Betty nails her solo.

Jughead is the first to jump to his feet, the rest of their entourage following suit, to give her a standing ovation.

There’s tears in Penny’s eyes.

Her little girl is amazing.

FP, grinning widely, tucks her into a side hug, and it’s then that she sees him, standing in the very back of the auditorium, watching her daughter.

Hal.

* * *

The first person she sees is her mommy.

Betty runs to her.

Her mommy laughs, scoops her up, kisses the top of her head.

“I’m _so_ proud of you, baby!” She says, and twirls her around.

Then she’s being passed around from friend to friend, names she doesn’t always remember, but faces she’d recognized anywhere.

FP spins her around too, so does Mr. Henry and Mr. Andrews. Mrs. Andrews tickles her under her chin, Ms. Pammy tells her that she’s the most beautiful dancer.

Toni talks about the wrestling marathon she watched in the dressing room, tells Betty that she doesn’t have to dance anymore, promises that they will _always_ be best friends when she notices Betty’s lip trembling.

Jughead brings her a flower that FP says he picked himself.

Betty beams, wraps her arms around Jughead’s neck, giggles when he immediately hugs her back.

She likes hugging Jughead.

“Elizabeth, honey?”

She _knows_ that voice.

Her daddy is here.

He’s only a few feet away, but as he takes another step, Jughead grabs her hand, pulls her away, back towards where their parents are standing.

Her mommy immediately seems to know that something is wrong.

“Baby?”

Betty clings to her leg.

“Betty-”

“Penny,”

* * *

FP starts towards him.

“Jones,”

“Pen-”

She pries Betty’s fingers from her leg, where her nails are digging into her skin, picks her little girl up, hands her to Mary.

“It’s okay,” she says.

Penny takes Hal’s arm, leads him far, far away.

* * *

“What are you doing here?”

Hal keeps a good distance, hands clasped behind his back.

“She’s so beautiful,” he says finally.

“I _know_ that,” Penny snorts. “It’s your own fault if you’re just realizing this now. News flash Hal, _her life goes on_ , with or without you.”

There’s a long stretch of uncomfortable silence.

“I’m... I’m sorry Penny,”

It’s a nice line, one she’s heard far too many times over the years. She doesn’t believe him anymore, but for Betty’s sake, she _wants_ to.

“I’m not the one you should be apologizing to.”

* * *

Her mommy and daddy come back, Mrs. Andrews puts her down.

She runs to her mommy, arms stretched above her head to be picked up, and when she complies, Betty hides her face in her mommy’s shoulder.

“Shh baby,”

“Elizabeth, sweetheart...”

Her daddy reaches out to touch her. She jerks away.

_“No.”_

“Elizabeth...”

“Betty,” she insists, and holds onto her mommy a little tighter.

Only her mommy is allowed to call her _Elizabeth._

 _“Betty,”_ he says, but he doesn’t reach for her again. “Honey, daddy’s sorry.”

* * *

Betty doesn’t react to his apology.

It’s not a very good one, it’s just the word _sorry._ Betty knows what that means, she’s smarter than her sorry excuse of a father will probably ever give her credit for, she says _sorry_ when she does something wrong, which isn’t very often, but she doesn’t say it just to _say_ it.

Hal has never been very good at reading body language.

He reaches out to stroke her hair, loosened from the bun Penny had piled it into earlier.

Betty flinches.

Jughead appears out of nowhere, kicks him pretty hard in the shin.

Penny bursts out laughing.

FP grabs his son, but doesn’t scold him.

Hal is pained as he meets her eye, nods like he knows he deserved it, says he’ll be in touch, and limps away.

FP rests a heavy hand on her shoulder. “Pen-”

“I’ll take the kids to the car,” she offers, because she knows there’s no point in arguing with him.

FP nods, grabs Henry, and follows Hal towards the parking lot.

* * *

Fred comes too.

He doesn’t need to ask why. He cares about Betty just as much as the rest of them do.

“Hey Blossom,”

Hal, about to get into his fancy little sports car, pauses, glances over his shoulder. “What the fuck do you want, Jones?”

It never does take much to set FP off.

He grabs him by his gelled up hair, the collar of his designer jacket, slams him against the hood of that _fancy little sports car._

“You know,” he grins ruthlessly. “Penny and Betty, they’ve been doing _just_ fine without you.”

Henry laughs beside him. Fred cautions him to be careful.

He ignores them both.

“They’re happy,” FP says, and it’s true. Despite the hard work, and lack of funds, he’s never seen Penny happier than when she’s with that beautiful little girl. _“I’m_ happy that they’re happy. It would be a shame if anything were to disrupt that happiness, wouldn’t it, gentlemen?”

Hal still thinks he’s touch.

“Fuck. You.” He grits out.

FP slams him a little harder against the car. “Don’t fuck with them Blossom, it won’t end well for you. If you’re gonna be Betty’s father, _then be her fucking father,_ if not, then leave her the fuck alone and let her move on with her life.”

“FP,” Fred grabs his arm. “Let’s go.”

Henry nods in agreement.

“One more thing,” he replies, dipping his head to whisper in the bastard’s ear. “You ever lay a hand on either one of them again...”

The rest of his sentence is too low for any of them to catch.

It’s not a threat, it’s a promise.

Penny is his best friend. She and Betty are important to him, and Serpents protect their own.

* * *

She’s worried, even as she watches the children happily playing in the parking lot.

Betty has actually gotten Jughead to dance with her.

They’re holding hands, and he keeps twirling her around, grinning at the sound of her laughter.

“They’re growing up so fast,” Mary says, settling Jellybean to her hip.

Pamela smiles. “I can’t believe they’re about to start preschool.”

 _That_ catches her attention.

“Preschool?”

“I’ve been meaning to talk to you,” Pamela says, touches her arm. “I know Betty is a little bit younger, but... she’s so smart Penny, I think she’d do great.”

“Preschool,” Penny repeats, a little stunned.

“What do you think?” Mary asks. Jughead spins Betty again. “This way, all the kids could stay together.”

_“...Preschool?”_

* * *

It’s a big decision, one she agonizes over.

Betty talks happily throughout dinner and bath time about the red rose Jughead brought to her show, asks Penny if they can put it in a vase beside her new big girl bed, and Penny agrees.

“Mommy,”

She pulls the covers up to her chin, kisses her daughter’s forehead. “What baby?”

“Why did daddy come tonight?”

It’s the last thing Penny is expecting.

“Um...”

Her baby is _still_ a baby. She’s too young to understand any of this.

But Penny will never lie to her.

“I don’t know baby,” she confesses. “I think... maybe he wants to be a better daddy for you. Maybe he wants to spend more time with you.”

Betty’s staring at her like she understands every word.

“Do you... wanna spend more time with you daddy, Elizabeth?”

She bites her lip.

“I don’t know,”

“Okay,” Penny tries not to feel relieved. “That’s okay honey, you don’t have to know.”

She retrieves Angela from the dresser, tucks her under Betty’s arm.

“Mommy,”

“What baby?”

“What’s... _preschool?”_

Penny laughs. “You, Elizabeth Peabody, are very sneaky, you know that? Were you listening to mommy’s conversations again?”

Eagerly, Betty nods. She looks proud.

“Preschool is... well, it’s a school, honey,” she explains. “You go there every day, and you get to learn, and play. Your friends... at least, Archie, Jughead and Toni are about to start preschool, and... you could start preschool too, if you wanted to... Do you want to start preschool, baby?”

Betty sits up.

“I wanna stay with Toni, Jughead and Archie,” she says.

A few tears fall.

She’s so proud of her little girl.

Betty seems confused as she brings up a single, tiny hand to Penny’s face, gathers some of the tears.

“Are you sad, mommy?” She asks.

Penny is quick to shake her head.

“No baby,” she pulls Betty down onto her lap. “I’m not sad, I’m happy.”

Penny kisses her daughter’s forehead.

“I guess you’re starting preschool,”


	8. Unbreakable Smile

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiiiiiii friends, thank you for reading! The next chapter is a big one!
> 
> Thank you so much for reading! :)

* * *

The first day of her last semester of law school is Betty’s first day of preschool.

Penny can barely keep it together.

She’s never been an emotional person, but she’s said it once, she’ll say it again. Being a mother, being _Betty’s_ mother brings out a completely different side to the woman that’s been nicknamed the _Snake Charmer_ amongst the Serpents, and Penny is more than fucking okay with it.

She stands with Pamela, Mary and FP, watches as her little girl, in a pretty yellow dress, golden curls pulled back from her face in two carefully tied French braids, holds tightly to Toni’s hand, smiles bravely back at Penny.

 _She can do this,_ Penny thinks.

Betty can do anything.

* * *

Preschool, Betty decides, is okay.

There’s lots of toys, she gets to eat breakfast twice, once at home with her mommy, and again at school, surrounded by her three best friends, she gets chocolate milk at lunch and a juice box at lunch.

One of the best things about preschool is her teacher, Ms. Alessia, who has one of the prettiest smiles Betty has ever seen.

Other than her mommy’s, of course.

The other teacher is nice too, but she wants Betty to keep practicing spelling and writing her name. She already _knows_ how to spell her name, both her names, because sometimes mommy and other people call her _Elizabeth_.

She still prefers Betty.

She knows how to spell her middle name too. It’s Regan. Elizabeth Regan Peabody. She can spell all of it.

Mommy taught her how to spell her other name too. _Blossom._ It’s her daddy’s name. No one really uses it on her, at least none of mommy’s friends do. Daddy likes to call her _Lizzie Blossom._

That’s not her name.

It makes daddy mad when she refuses to answer him. He pinches her, leaves little bruises, and mommy gets mad.

She wonders if that’s why she almost never sees her daddy.

It’s okay though, she doesn’t need to see her daddy, and she doesn’t _want_ to see him. She just needs her mommy.

Ms. Alessia can tell that she’s getting bored writing out the letters _B-E-T-T-Y_ over and over again, kneels down to her height, takes the pencil from her hand.

“Do you want to learn how to spell your mommy’s name, Betty?”

Eagerly, she nods.

* * *

Finally, _finally_ , it’s three o’clock. She can go get her baby girl.

Yeah, she can get homework done now without a bunch of kids running around the tiny house she shares with her daughter, she even got a nap in, but she _misses_ the noise, the screams and shouts of laughter, misses having to make six different kinds of sandwiches because none of them want the same thing for lunch.

She misses _Betty._

Penny never takes a single fucking moment with her daughter for granted.

Feeling misty eyed, she casts a glance through the living room window. Pamela, in her own kitchen, waves, a signal that she too, is almost ready to leave.

Car pooling is going to be great.

She reaches for her bag just as the phone rings.

Irritated, she makes a grab for it, trying to remind herself that the person on the other end of the line probably doesn’t _know_ just how desperate she is to go get her daughter.

“Yeah?”

“...Penny,”

Penny sucks in a breath, stunned. “Hal.”

* * *

“Penny?” Pamela slips through the front door. It’s not strange, they’re in and out of each other’s houses on a near daily basis. “Are you ready to... Penny?”

She’s completely numb, void of any emotion.

“He says he took some parenting classes,” she says, still seated at the table. “He wants to see her.”

* * *

The first little one she sees is her baby girl.

She’s been trying to put on a good face after her bizarre conversation with her child’s father, because that’s all Hal is to her anymore, and he’s _barely_ that, but the second she spots Betty, braids all wonky, marker on her nose, a scab on her knee, everything she’s _wanted_ to feel for the sake of her little girl is genuine.

“Betty!”

A smile breaks out across her face.

And then she’s running.

Toni and Jughead are close behind her, finding their respective parents. Penny catches her, pulls her close, drops thousands of kisses to her forehead and hairline, because seven hours away from her little angel is _too much._

Betty giggles through it all.

“Hi kiddo,” she whispers.

Betty throws her arms around her neck. “Hi _Penny!”_

* * *

Later, her teacher rushes to explain that because Betty already knows how to spell her name, praising her for being _so smart_ , she went on to teach the little girl how to spell _her_ name as well.

Betty demonstrates the second they get home, calls her _Penny_ from the time they celebrate her first day of school with an impromptu tea party, from the time she retrieves her from Henry at half-past ten, sleepy, head falling heavily against Penny’s shoulder.

The only thing she can do is laugh.

Betty really is the best thing in her life.

* * *

Preschool is fun, she decides, but she still misses her mommy.

Mommy sings to her when she’s trying to take a nap, the teachers play music. There’s only two of them, so it takes a long time for them to rub everyone’s backs.

Jughead sleeps right across from her. Their cots aren’t that far apart.

He’s her best friend. He knows when she has trouble sleeping, and he always reaches for her, laces his fingers through hers, squeezes softly.

Betty likes it when they fall asleep holding hands, even if Archie and the other boys tease Jughead about it later.

Her mommy ends up with a picture of her and Jughead fast asleep, hands entwined. Betty likes that picture.

* * *

Penny doesn’t tell Betty about the phone call with Hal, at least not right away.

Her little girl is smart, _so_ smart, but she _is_ a child, and there are some things even the smartest child will never be able to understand.

The courts think Hal has done his part. Mary does her best to plead Penny’s case, and while it’s mostly in her favor, her baby girl still has to spend one unsupervised weekend a month with a man that has been known to hurt her mother.

Betty cries at the news. The only thing Penny can do is hold her, try to promise that everything will be all right.

* * *

The first few visits are okay. Not great, just okay.

Daddy gets mad easily. He likes to throw things, he likes to yell.

But then the yelling turns into shouting, the shouting turns into screaming, and the screaming is followed by pinches to her arms, her legs, even her back once.

She always tells mommy.

* * *

Penny keeps notes. Detailed notes, complete with photos, even a couple of video recordings, passes them off to Mary as evidence.

Hal’s visits have to be supervised now.

* * *

He does better. Of course he does better, someone’s watching his every move.

Penny knows Betty is smart enough to see right through him. His kind, encouraging tone, the way he asks Betty about her mother, even calling her _Betty_ instead of Elizabeth or _Lizzie_ , it’s all an act.

But it’s an act that seems to work. His visits don’t have to be supervised anymore.

* * *

Penny passes her bar exam with flying colors.

She’s tense the entire way through. Outside, she has an audience waiting for her, the Serpents, their families, even Fred and Mary Andrews, but only one person in particular is on her mind, the constant reminder of why she does everything she does.

And as Penny exits the classroom, tears of joy streaming down her cheeks, Betty’s voice is the first that she hears.

_“Yay mommy!”_

* * *

She squirms, and Ms. Pammy is happy to let her go, let her run down the long hallway into her mommy’s arms.

Her mommy laughs, picks her up and spins her around. Betty can’t help but laugh too.

She loves her mommy, loves it when she’s happy.

* * *

There’s a huge party at the Wyrm to celebrate.

FP throws an arm around her shoulders, tells her that he knew she could do it.

* * *

Later, when she’s unbuckling her sleepy little girl from her car seat, Betty asks a surprising question.

“Mommy,” she whispers. “do you love anybody more than me?”

“No,” Penny says, without hesitation. She lifts her up, feels her daughter’s head fall heavily to her shoulder. And then, just because she’s curious. “Do you love anybody more than me?”

It’s dark out. She can still see the smile slowly creep across Betty’s face.

“No,” she replies. “Just you, mommy. Just you.”

* * *

Penny opens up her own law firm in the back of a tattoo shop. Where she lives, it’s the perfect place to do business.

Betty spends many afternoons there, Toni by her side. She has a little toy phone next to Penny’s work like that she likes to pretend to talk into whenever Penny’s phone rings.

She tells Penny that she’s going to save the world, just like her mommy. Penny’s not sure if she herself is a savior, but she believes in everything Betty does.

* * *

The weekend she comes back from daddy’s with a noticeable red welt on her left cheek, mommy gets mad. Really mad. She makes a _lot_ of phone calls.

Suddenly, Betty doesn’t have to see her daddy anymore. She doesn’t mind.

* * *

Pamela calls halfway through a school day, very upset.

Toni pushed Archie Andrews off the swing-set on the playground, skinning his chin. When Penny asks _why_ , the answer makes her want to laugh.

Apparently Archie said that Jughead and Betty would never end up together, and made Betty cry.

Penny does her best to calm Pammy down, convinces her not to come down as hard on her daughter by reminding her of how close their girls were.

Toni was just protecting her friend.

God, Penny loves that little girl too.

* * *

Betty is three, part way through her second year of preschool when she announces that she doesn’t want to be a Blossom anymore.


	9. All These Lives

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: This chapter does contain aspects of physcial abuse, but I tried not to make it too graphic.
> 
> Thank you so much for reading! :)

* * *

She’s a little startled, to say the least.

Betty’s three, _three years old._ She’s too young to know that there’s a way for her father _not_ to be her father anymore, but she does know, she’s asking for it, telling Penny that she doesn’t want to be a Blossom, she wants to be like _her_ , _just_ a Peabody, and Penny has to remind herself that her little girl is perhaps a little _too_ smart.

So she asks Betty, because she knows her daughter understands, somehow, she understands, so Penny asks her honestly.

“Do you _want_ it to be just you and me, baby?”

And Betty _beams_ at her.

“Silly mommy,” she plays with the strands of Penny’s loose hair, just a few shades darker than her own. “it’s always been just you and me.”

* * *

She does it because it’s what Betty wants, and she’d do anything for her blonde haired, blue eyed little girl.

Hal’s never been much of a father to her anyway.

Penny speaks with Mary. Mary is happy to get them a court date for the following month.

That’s when Hal finds out. He’s the only one left feeling unhappy.

* * *

“You are _not_ going to take my daughter away from me,”

“Your daughter?” Penny wants to laugh. She’s doing her best to keep her voice down, because Betty is sound asleep in the next room over. _“Your_ daughter? Please.”

“What the fuck is that supposed to mean, Penny?” Hal demands.

His eyes a bloodshot. He’s been drinking. He’s a mean drunk.

This is a bad idea.

“You know exactly what it means,” she whispers. “She’s mine Hal, she’s always been mine, not yours.”

* * *

It’s the wrong thing to say to him, but she doesn’t fucking regret a word of it, because it’s the truth.

Betty is _hers._

Her life, her light, the _only_ good thing that has ever happened to her.

* * *

Mommy and Hal, she decides to call him _Hal_ , because he’s not going to be her daddy, are fighting. Again.

Mommy cries out.

Betty throws her covers back, abandons Angela on the bed to protect her, throws her bedroom door open.

_“Don’t hurt my mommy!”_

* * *

Hal hits Betty. Right in front of her.

Penny’s on her feel in what feels like a single second, grabs her daughter, holds her tight. The slap against her right cheek is an all too familiar mark she’s learned to wear well, but Betty is sobbing in a way that Penny never has when Hal hits her, and she vows in that moment that he will never lay a finger on either of them ever again.

* * *

She screams at him to leave.

He does.

* * *

“Son of a bitch,” he growls.

“...Daddy?” A softer voice asks.

Realizing his mistake, he tells Penny that he’ll be there soon and slams the phone back into its cradle. Jughead and Jellybean stand at the bottom of the stairs, hands entwined.

FP closes the distance between them in a single stride, pulls them into his arms, holds him close.

He’s a father, and as a father, he’ll never be able to understand why or how even the lowest of human beings can hurt the ones they’re supposed to love and protect.

If Hal won’t protect Betty, then Penny will, and FP will be damned if he’s not there to lend a hand too.

Serpents protect their own. Friends protect friends. Family protects family.

* * *

FP happily offers the _Serpent Way_ , a means to an end that she firmly refuses. As much as she wants revenge against the man that hurt her daughter, she can’t do it _like this._

She loves Betty too much.

So she sits on her daughter’s bed with Betty in her arms, rocks her back and forth, and asks FP to call Mary.

They need to get this done, sooner that she originally thought.

All of this, she decides, is for her daughter.

Everything is for her daughter.

* * *

After Hal strikes Betty, Penny falls into a depression of some sorts, stops sleeping at night, stands in her daughter’s doorway, watching her chest rise and fall as she dreams without worry.

She fucked up once. She won’t do it again.

And that’s a promise.

* * *

Mommy seems really, really sad, and Betty can’t stand it.

So while her mommy is busy with someone she works with, Betty thinks the right word is _client_ , she gets out her crayons, a stack of white paper and the tape mommy keeps in something she calls a _junk drawer._

It takes her most of the afternoon, but she knows it’ll be worth it.

* * *

_“Mommy!”_

She smiles distantly, abandons her paperwork and heads out to the kitchen.

Pictures are taped to nearly every surface. Rainbows, kittens, and butterflies. Lots and lots of butterflies.

“Betty, what-”

Betty stands in the middle of the room, hands held together behind her back.

“I love you mommy,” she says simply.

Tears fill her eyes as she picks the little girl up, holds her close. Betty is the only person who can convince her that she isn’t fucking up royally when it comes to being a mother.

“I love you, sweetheart,” she whispers. “I love you so much.”

* * *

The day of the trial, there’s only one thing Penny can say to her daughter.

She kneels down to Betty’s height, holds her by the shoulders so she knows she’s paying attention.

“No matter what happens,” her tone is low. “you and I are going to be fine, okay? You and I will always have each other.”

Betty nods once, reaches up with a tiny hand to touch Penny’s cheek.

“I don’t need Hal, mommy,” she says. “I just need you.”

* * *

A tall man behind a desk asks her a simple question. Does she want Hal to be her daddy?

Mrs. Andrews holds her hand, brushes her thumb across Betty’s knuckles. She’s not her mommy, but she still makes Betty feel brave.

She catches her mommy’s eye from halfway across the room. Her mommy smiles.

Betty loves her mommy.

“Betty honey,” Mary whispers. “Did you hear what the judge said?”

She nods.

“Elizabeth,” the man says. “Do you want to keep seeing your daddy?”

Her eyes cut to Hal.

He looks _so mean._

It’s in that moment that three year old Elizabeth Peabody, yes, _just_ Peabody, decides that she has never loved her daddy. Hal. The man that hurts her mommy.

But Betty loves her mommy.

“No,” Betty says simply. “I just need my mommy.”

All of mommy’s friends are there, and as the judge bangs his hammer against the desk he’s still sitting behind, the room bursts into loud cheers.

* * *

“Harold Timothy Blossom, your rights to the minor child, Elizabeth Regan Peabody Blossom have been terminated. Sole custody is awarded to Elizabeth’s mother, Penny Anne Peabody. I am also signing off on Ms. Peabody’s request to change Elizabeth’s surname. From this day forward, the child is question shall be known as Elizabeth Regan Peabody.”

* * *

He bangs the gavel again, and the tears flow freely.

It’s over. It’s _done._ Betty is hers and hers alone.

It’s exactly the way things should be.

FP’s arms wrap around her, and he swings her in a circle as the rest of the Serpents, along with Fred Andrews, close in around her too.

And then she hears the most beautiful voice.

_“Mommy!”_

Mary hands her little girl over.

Betty’s arms are like a vice grip around her neck, but Penny welcomes the almost choke hold, peppering kisses to her baby’s forehead and hair.

“I love you mommy,” Betty tells her, finally pulling back. “Can we go to Pop’s now?”

Penny bursts out laughing. “Of course we can baby, we can go wherever you want.”

* * *

_“Penny.”_

* * *

She’s quick to put Betty down, ushers her over to where FP is standing with Jughead and Jellybean.

Hal grabs her arm, squeezes. It hurts.

“This isn’t over,” he hisses. “I _will_ get her back. You’re not gonna keep my daughter from me, you stupid bitch, you’re _not.”_

Suddenly, he’s being forced to let go, howling in pain.

* * *

Betty sinks her teeth into Hal’s arm.

“Don’t. Hurt. My. Mommy.” She warns, as her mommy quickly pulls her away.

* * *

His threat isn’t enough to keep her up at night, but it’s always there, in the back of her mind, and the day that she makes the decision to leave her three year old daughter alone in their front yard because she wants to watch a black and blue butterfly, just to answer the fucking phone, it finally comes true.

* * *

Betty is gone.

Penny can’t find her anywhere.

* * *

She calls 9-1-1, FP, Pamela and Henry, Fred and then Sheriff Keller, in that order.

FP holds her back from lashing out at the _good_ Sheriff when he makes claims that Hal would _never_ abduct his daughter.

Betty isn’t his daughter anymore. That doesn’t seem to matter to Hal.

She’ll kill him. She’ll fucking kill him.

* * *

_“I need her back.”_

* * *

Betty screams.

It’s what she’s been taught to do when someone is trying to hurt her, but no one, not even her mommy comes running before it’s too late.

* * *

She’s on the floor of the car. She doesn’t have Angela, she doesn’t have the locket Jughead gave her, she doesn’t have her mommy.

Hal is there. Some lady with the same color hair as her mommy is driving, but the lady isn’t as pretty as her mommy, and Betty tells her so.

“Quiet _Lizzie,”_ Hal warns, and he raises a hand to strike her.

It hurts. It really hurts, but Betty doesn’t cry.

Hal is trying to take her away from her mommy. She’s not going _anywhere_ with Hal and this lady, she decides.

So she kicks him. It only makes him madder.

He raises a hand to hit her again, letting go of her shoulder in the process.

Betty bites him, harder than she did the day he tries to hurt her mommy.

He howls in pain.

_“Lizzie-”_

“Betty,” she hisses, and bites him again, just below his eat. He cries out, and the lady driving slams on the breaks in alarm. “My. Name. Is. Betty. _Not Lizzie. **Betty.**_ And I’m not going anywhere with you, I’m staying with my mommy!”

The car comes to a screeching halt. She manages to slide out from under Hal’s heavy body, throws the door open, and runs into the woods.

She doesn’t know where she’s going, but she knows she’s going to find her mommy.

* * *

“I can’t lose her,” Penny whispers.

“You _won’t_ ,” Pamela tells her, sliding an arm across her shoulders. “We’ll find her Penny, we’re going to find her.”

* * *

Penny’s crying.

FP abandons his half-heartedly made cup of coffee on the counter, stands up straight, slips into his Serpent jacket.

Henry looks at him, alarmed. “Where are you-”

“To find Betty,” he answers, sounding short. “Or to kill Hal, whichever comes first.”

His fellow Serpent merely nods.

“Stay here,” FP directs. “Don’t let Penny out of your sight.”

* * *

She’s tired, cold, hungry, and she just wants her mommy.

It’s dark out, probably _way_ past her bed time. She misses her bed, the butterflies on her wall, Angela, but most of all, she misses her mommy.

She’s lost, alone in the dark woods. She has no idea how to get home.

But then, she hears a voice, soft, sweet, call out her name.

 _“Betty,”_ it whispers.

It’s not her mommy’s voice, not Hal’s or the lady that was driving his car. She’s never heard it before.

“Betty,” she says again. “it’s okay, I’m here to help.”

“I want my mommy!” Betty wails.

The voice never loses its patient tone. It makes it that much easier to trust, even though mommy always tells her not to talk to strangers.

“This way,” she calls. “You’re almost there.”

Betty believes her, whoever she is, so she stands up, brushes her hands against her dirty jeans, and starts running again.

* * *

It’s way past his bedtime.

Archie and Jellybean are both sound asleep on the couch. Mr. and Mrs. Andrews are babysitting. Some of his dad’s friends linger around the house.

He doesn’t know what’s going on, but he’s bored, so when Mr. Andrews looks away, Jughead slips outside to play in the treehouse that Archie’s dad built for him.

He’s about to start climbing when he hears a stick break, and he whirls around instead, hoping to find a stray dog that needs a home. He’s always wanted a dog. His mom doesn’t want a dog.

Instead, he finds Betty, and that’s okay. Betty is better than a dog.

From the dim porch lights, he can just barely make out her face. She’s got some cuts and bruises, her hair is tangled, her jeans are dirty, her sweater is torn, and she looks like she’s about to start crying.

He’ll hurt whoever made her cry, he decides, because he can’t stand to see her look anything other than happy.

“J-Juggie?” She whispers.

“Betts,” Jughead says, and steps forward to take her by the hand. “Hi.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any guessese on who the mysterious voice was??
> 
> Next chapter, Penny and Betty's reunion! I'm going to try to write a tear jerker. Thank you so much for reading!


	10. Home Sweet Home

* * *

He takes her hand in his bigger, warm one, she finally thinks that it’s okay for her to cry.

She doesn’t know how she got here, here, in Jughead’s backyard, where she’s played thousands of times before. Archie says girls aren’t allowed in the tree house. Jughead tells Archie that he’s stupid.

Stupid isn’t a nice word, but when he says it, she laughs anyway. She likes that Jughead likes to protect her.

And that’s what he’s doing now, holding her hand. He pulls some leaves out of her tangled hair, asks if she’s okay. If she came over to play with him. He tells her that Archie is lame for falling asleep.

Betty doesn’t answer him.

She bursts into tears instead.

* * *

He drives all across Riverdale, Northside, Southside, Fox Forrest, Sweet Water River. There’s no sign of her.

 _Damn it._ This isn’t going to happen. Penny isn’t going to miss out on her daughter’s life just because Hal Blossom is a selfish prick that took the child formally known at his just to hurt her mother beyond words.

They’ll find her. They’ll bring her home.

Because Betty isn’t just Penny’s daughter, or the girl he knows his son loves. She’s one of them, a future Serpent. She’s family, and the first rule of being a Serpent is that Serpents protect their own.

So he’ll protect Betty, he’ll protect Penny, and he’ll kill Hal with his bare hands if he ever gets the chance.

* * *

He wants to keep looking, he _will_ keep looking, but something on his bike starts rattling,,, and he needs to swing by his house to fix it.

Selfishly, he wants to see his own two kids, remind himself that they’re safe.

* * *

She sits on the couch, legs pressed against her chest. Under her arm, is Angela.

Pamela and Henry hover, but she can’t bring herself to acknowledge them. Instead, she thinks about Betty, how she can’t sleep without Angela, her nightly bath, the tub filled to the brim with Mr. Bubbles, her favorite. She likes water from the bathroom sink, not the kitchen, and she always demands two stories and a song.

Penny always tells Betty that she loves her, Betty tells Penny that she loves her more.

_What if she never gets to hear those words again?_

* * *

Jellybean is sound asleep on the couch, hair in her face. Across from her, Archie snores. Mary’s knitting, and Fred’s pacing back and forth, eyes glued to the muted TV. News coverage, just in case.

But Betty’s story isn’t big new yet, and that pisses him off.

“Did you find her?” His best friend asks, anxiously.

FP throws him an irritated look.

“FP,” Mary warns. Her voice is chattering.

She’s nervous. FP doesn’t blame her.

After all, aren’t they all fucking _terrified?_

“I just came to grab a wrench,” he says, and claps Freddie Andrews on the back. “and to see...”

FP trails off, but Fred nods in understanding, brushes the hair away from Jellybean’s eyes.

“They’re-”

“Where’s Jughead?”

He suddenly realizes that his son is not in the room, and given everything that’s happened tonight, the panic immediately sets in.

_Where the hell is Jughead?_

“He’s...” Fred glances around, eyes wide when he doesn’t find the four year old boy. “Where’s Jughead?”

“Where _is_ he?” FP shouts. “Fred, where the hell is my boy?”

He starts towards the kitchen, ready to call Keller. Rationality is out the window.

Mary is the only sensible one.

“FP,” she doesn’t put her knitting needles down. “The tree house.”

 _The tree house._ The one Fred built for him. He doesn’t know why he didn’t think to check there first. He stops to kiss his best friend’s wife on the cheek in thanks before bustling out the back door, Freddie hot at his heels.

 _“Jughead!”_ FP bellows. “Boy-”

“Daddy!” Is the immediate response he gets.

“Boy,” he says again, and the relief is clear in his tone. “Where the hell are you?”

“Here,” Jughead calls back. He sounds closer. “We’re right here!”

FP and Fred share a look.

_We?_

_“We?”_ FP demands. “Jug, who’s...”

And then he sees them. His son, wearing the Incredible Hulk pajamas, holding tightly to the hand of a little girl with golden blonde hair, and bright blue eyes, tears streaming down her grimy cheeks.

_Betty._

* * *

She’s still crying when she sees FP.

She likes FP, she’s always liked FP. He swings her through the air, never forgets her birthday. He’s her mommy’s very best friend.

He’s not mean. He makes her remember that not every big man is like Hal.

FP is nice.

And FP can take her back to her mommy. FP has a truck.

* * *

He thinks he swears.

By the look Freddie throws him, he’s sure he does, but he doesn’t give a _damn._

Because by god, she’s there. Betty Peabody is standing in his backyard, holding his son’s hand. Her hair is a mess, her clothes are dirty, she’s got some scrapes and bruises that he knows are from Hal, but still, she’s there. She’s alive, she breathing, and soon, she’ll be going home.

He grabs both kids, holds them close, feels tears coming to his eyes.

“Feep,” she hasn’t called him that since she turned two. “I wanna see my mommy.”

FP nods, carrying Jughead and Betty towards the house. “You got it kiddo, whatever you want. Let’s go see your mommy.”

* * *

“Penny,”

Pamela’s arm is around her, fingers drawing circles across her left shoulder.

“The police need a picture,” she says softly. “For the flyers... they need a picture of Betty.”

Wordlessly, Penny stands, makes her way to the mantel, picks up the first frame she sees. It’s from the Fourth of July, Betty’s in a red, white and blue dress. She has a popsicle in her hand. Half of it’s on her chin. Her hair is a mess.

She holds the frame close to her heart, finally breaks down.

She _needs_ her little girl back.

The front door opens. Penny doesn’t turn around. People have been coming and going all night, so what’s the point of looking?

But then she hears it, the softest, sweetest voice. It reminds her of the first time she heard her baby cry, the night she was born.

And it’s just as beautiful.

_“Mommy,”_

She still doesn’t turn around.

“Pammy?”

“Y-Yeah?”

“...Tell me that I’m not dreaming,” Penny whispers, and it’s a plea.

“Pen,” there’s a smile in her voice. “Turn around.”

Slowly, she does, and the first thing she sees is her beautiful little girl.

She’s being held up by FP. Her face is bruised and bloodies, her favorite sweater is ruined, there’s a hole in the knee of her jeans, and in typical Betty fashion, her hair is all over the place.

She’s still the most beautiful thing Penny has _ever_ seen.

“Mommy!” She says again.

FP puts her down, and she goes running straight into Penny’s arms. She throws the child into the air, holds her tightly.

_She’s not dreaming._

This little girl that is hers and hers alone is real, she’s breathing, and she’s _home._ She’s in Penny’s arms, and Penny will be damned if she ever lets her go again.

“Baby...”

“Hi mommy!” Betty says, and throws her arms around her neck. “I missed you!”

Penny laughs. It’s all she can do.

“I missed you too baby,” she whispers. “I missed you so much.”

* * *

She has to go to the doctor.

She’s not sick, but mommy says she has to, so she does. She lets them do the things that doctors do, like take her temperature, and listen to her heart beat. She gets an ice pack for the bruises on her cheek, and a couple of fairy princess band aids, they _aren’t_ pink,. The doctor says she’s fine.

Mommy cries a little more. When Betty asks why she’s crying, mommy says she’s just happy, and Betty believes her.

After the doctor, she has to tell a man with a big hat what happened when Hal took her from the front yard. She’s tired, and wants to go home, but she tries to stay awake, answers all their questions, tells them everything.

Well, _almost_ everything.

She doesn’t talk about the lady that helped her find Jughead in his backyard. She’s not really sure why.

She does tell her mommy though.

* * *

Penny is in shock.

The story leaves her mouth as FP drives them home. She should be in her car seat, but Penny isn’t ready to let her go.

“A lady?” She asks again.

Betty’s little head bobs up and down in a nod before falling to Penny’s chest. She’s exhausted.

“Mhhm,”

“What did she look like?”

“I didn’t see her,”

“Okay... what did she sound like?”

“Wind chimes,” she says, after a moment. “but her voice was kind of... scratchy. I wonder if she had a cold, mommy. I hope she doesn’t have a cold. She was nice, I don’t want her to get sick.”

Her words are like a shot to the heart.

Penny knows _exactly_ who her daughter is talking about, and by the way FP whips his head around to stare at her, he knows too, but...

It simply isn’t _possible._

* * *

Betty eats three bowls of Mac n’ Cheese in one sitting, sings a song about dolphins in the bathtub, gleefully puts on the locket Jughead gave her even though she’s about to go to bed, falls asleep snoring against Penny’s chest, Angela tucked under her arm, a blanket thrown across the both of them.

FP stays, and she doesn’t pretend not to know why. He’s certain that Hal will make another appearance, and Penny can’t say that she blames him. It’s her biggest fear too.

That son of a bitch _stole_ her little girl. Penny will make him pay.

They don’t talk about the voice Betty claims to have heard. Penny doesn’t tell him that she believes every word her daughter said.

Regan protected her until she died. It’s not a huge shock that she would protect Betty too.

* * *

There’s a heavy knock against the front door just as she thinks, maybe, she could doze off too.

FP stands, answers it hesitantly.

Penny’s blood boils at his greeting.

“Keller,”

Sheriff Keller moves past FP, stands in the center of the room. His eyes never leave Betty, still sleeping soundly.

“We caught him,” he announces. “Hal and his girlfriend Alice Smith are both in custody.”


End file.
